If I asked you what smart blogging was what would you say?
The fastest way to make money blogging,
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The easiest way to make money blogging or
The most effective way to make money blogging.
But what exactly is most effective, time wise, cost wise, and long term wise so to speak?
I have Ryan Biddulph over from Blogging from Paradise sharing his no. 1 smart blogging tip and secret for building a successful blog.
Now Ryan is not your typical pro blogger.
If you’ve been around blogosphere for a while, you know that he’s one of the extremely rare top bloggers who spend time genuinely connecting with and promoting people tirelessly, let’s learn how well this has worked out for him shall we.
Hi Ryan! Thank you for agreeing to chat, I’m so excited! Let’s kick off the interview with a brief introduction of who you are, why you so love to travel and some photos of where you are right now (in paradise!). What does a typical day in your week look like?
I am the creator and owner of Blogging From Paradise. I help people retire to a life of island hopping through smart blogging. Now I’m in gorgeous Norwalk, Connecticut, during Autumn. My day is just creating helpful content and connecting with other bloggers through genuine commenting and by promoting them.
You are known in blogosphere for your incredibly large network, you’ve been interviewed by Virgin Atlantic, Forbes, Neil Patel among others! You even got pitched to by Nat Geo, how did you get to this place? What would you attribute this success with networks to?
Generosity, Lily. If you notice people by promoting them, people promote you so freely that you pop up on the radar screen of big time websites. Most bloggers only think about themselves, or, promote others for a few months or maybe a year, then panic, and think about themselves again. I am generous and help folks so they help me. I also have a neat brand and practice writing like mad, so my skills helped me land on those sites too.
And how has this worked out so far for you? All the time you spend just giving, have you seen direct returns on this in terms of income?
That’s the key 😉 I do not focus on the returns aka getting; I only focus on giving, and trust in some Way Bigger Than Me, plus advice from seasoned pros, plus the creative and connecting process, to take care of itself. As for taking care of itself….well….I have lived in Fiji, Bali and Thailand for months or years through blogging. Pretty solid evidence hehehehe 🙂 Keep giving guys. Do not worry about getting, and getting takes care of itself. Just have some faith, and do not doubt yourself and place your belief in numbers on a screen.
Do not worry about getting, and getting takes care of itself. Just have some faith, and do not doubt yourself.
My next question is, how do you manage to get so much done? We all have 24 hours in a day and somehow, you manage to write ebooks, blog posts, blog comments, tweets… and still find time to take in the beauty of the exoctic places you travel to, how do you do it?
I love what I do, so I keep doing it. Most bloggers do what people tell them to do so it feels like a job, or heavy. Most bloggers do stuff to get money, or to be well known, so it feels heavy. I am passionate about my craft so I practice my butt off for years, developed my skills, and now, after lots of practice, I am kinda prolific. Follow your passion and you will become super prolific and effective.
What are your 3 favorite tools that help you blog smarter? You know the stuff that helps you maximize time like this.
Passion, Passion and Passion 🙂 95% of my effectiveness is based on doing what I love doing, and letting go all the stuff that bogs down bloggers; stuff they think they SHOULD be doing. 5% of my effectiveness is based on Tweet Deck and Social Oomph. Rocking tools for me.
What 3 things do new or aspiring bloggers need to know? If you had to start over, what 3 things would you consider most important?
- Blog mainly for fun to detach from outcomes,
- Learn blogging from pros and
- Spend virtually all working time creating helpful content and building strong bonds by helping fellow bloggers.
You always talk about the 2 Cs, Create and Connect, can you tell us more about this? Why does it work, does it scale better than just creating and advertising? Building one off sales but not spending the time required to connect.
Creators and Connectors rise above everybody in their fields because creating and connecting roots itself in Love, and Love is the most powerful energy in the Universe. You are literally focused on OTHER human beings 100% of the time when C and C ing it. Paid advertising can work well, but you are focusing some of your energy on inanimate objects – money, budgeting, demographics – so it lacks the Love element, and is a bit weaker energy/emotion. That’s why I live such a cool, freeing life, Lily; I think almost exclusively of service-giving and virtually nothing of return-getting, so my monumental giving ensures the getting takes care of itself.
And what is the key to creating lasting connections, how long does it take on average before someone notices you? Is there anything you can do to speed up the process?
Do not speed up the process, guys, because that is fear talking, and fear repels people. My spam folder is filled with people trying to speed up the process. Be genuine. Be yourself. Help people. Don’t fear-worry-fret over stats because again; numbers on a screen mean nothing. Human beings mean everything. No fear, all Love. Help, help, help and believe in you, and your tribe will follow.
My spam folder is filled with people trying to speed up the process. Be genuine. Be yourself. Help people.
Which people or books have had the most influence on your growth and mindset, why?
A Course in Miracles is my favorite book of all time. Only book you need to read to do whatever you want in life. Buy it guys. Like now. You just need to read and process 1 sentence at a time 🙂 It is not of this world, so it may flip you out, at first. But it helps you slowly but surely leave behind the illusion of fear, obsession with outcomes and conditional living most human beings live in, so you have that loving, fun energy that does amazing things.
Let’s talk about the biggest failure you’ve had. What did you learn from it?
Well….now I see opportunities for learning – not failure – but when I did the heavy judgment thing, going $70,000 into debt and having 4 cents kinda sucked. But thank God it happened. I let go the fear of losing all my money because I lost all my money. Now I am not saddled down by that fear, so I do not live life with the tiresome burden of the fear of losing my money. I learned this: if you surrender, and feel a horrible fear, you will live life from a detached, abundant, pretty fearless, energy. Plus you will act abundantly.
What keeps you going when you get hit with fails/opportunities like that?
10 years ago, it was eating LOL! Today, life is a series of moments so no fails, no wins, just peace and fun helping people. I love having fun creating content and building connections. Money and scant internet fame are just extra’s,bonuses, icing on the cake. Who cares, really? I appreciate success but it is a teeny weeny tiny aspect of what I do. Without it, I am happy. With it, I am happy.
Thank you so much for your time, I’m sure you’ve inspired a lot of people with your words and they are eager to know where to go from here. Would you be able to recommend any resources for beginners who would like to make a full time income blogging too? Any of your books that are a personal favorite? I know that at their prices and value people probably buy ALL of them but which is your personal favorite, how can it help new bloggers?
If you want to become a full time blogger, my flagship eBook is a great place to start: https://www.bloggingfromparadise.com/ebook
Thanks again Lily. This was a blast!
Thank YOU Ryan!
What next for you as a new or aspiring blogger?
Get a great blog plan that shows you a working blueprint for smart blogging and dive into these hand picked resources to help you grow your blog.
- How To Make Money Blogging For Beginners: 17 Bloggers’ 1st $100 Month
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Hey Lily,
I found your site by reading about you at: https://enstinemuki.com/how-to-make-money-blogging-lily-ugbaja/
First, congratulations on your success:)
Second, I also like your site. It has a lot of white space and looks very elegant and polished, which I like very much.
As for this interview, Ryan is the man. I love his philosophy of just giving and not thinking of getting something in return. Essentially choosing to be selfless, instead of selfish.
Reminds me of something Steve Pavlina would do, and Steve is my ultimate idol.
Hey Nikola,
Thank you so much for your kind words.
Yes, yes, Ryan is one smart blogger I so admire.
Lily
Lily thank you 🙂 Thank you too Enstine 🙂
Great to have you Ryan! And thanks for all the useful info you shared.
Hey Lily,
Good to see my personal person here and thanks to this interview, I’m discovering your world. Looks clean and airy here 😉
Ryan is a people connecting machine. He’s everywhere doing great things so there is no way he could go unnoticed.
His keyword “Generosity” is what he lives by and I’m glad to be connected with him. Ryan stops at nothing to promote fellow bloggers.
Good to see you here today buddy.
Hey Enstine! So glad you dropped by.
I’ve read you quite a bit. One of my favorite posts is the one where you talk about “Faking it” then go right ahead to give your 2 cents about the topic. This should be the post if I’m not mistaken https://enstinemuki.com/fake-bloggers/
You are so right, Ryan is amazing and what stands out the most in his generosity is the genuineness of it all. I’m not surprised how in tune he is spiritually.
Thanks again, looking forward to connecting with you.
ah thanks for referencing that post lol
I’m going to edit and re – post 😉